London-born, Philadelphia-based psychedelic soulstress, Nikko Gray has been releasing her brand of mellow, inventive future soul for a decade. And given the breadth of her experience, it’s no wonder that new project, Into the Soil, is brimming with the marks of a veteran artist.

 

Into the Soil – at only three tracks yet spanning 12 minutes – is an EP of the cohesive brand. Each track a composition, and the project at large a greater composition, too. And given the gray area of Nikko’s floaty aesthetic, it’s the kind of meditative, harmonious collection that under certain listening circumstances feels like it spans much more time (or that it even replays without a listener noticing anything cyclical). 

 

Much of that effect is owed to the underlying production of Bobby Earth. A producer, but also a vocalist and instrumentalist in his own right as a solo artist, Earth is fond of otherworldly, galactic production that leaves his work rooted in atmospheric futurism. The depth of his seemingly understated production ensures that with each new listen, there is something minute and detail-oriented to be heard for the first time.

 

Together, Nikko Gray & Bobby Earth are stellar. Fluid in the collaboration and effervescent with their finished product, Into the Soil feels like it moves in the opposite direction – higher and higher into the stratosphere, until it settles in orbit, circling again and again, each time giving something new.